Anonymous wrote:No one wants to go to games at Audi Field. Spirit was giving away free tickets to the games there last year to fill the seats.

That's why losing the DA team hurts so much, you lose a few hundred mandatory season ticket holders.

Anonymous wrote:No one wants to go to games at Audi Field. Spirit was giving away free tickets to the games there last year to fill the seats.

No shock. The team hasn't looked good for a while - since they had that mass exodus of players like Dunn. And Richie and Best are not of the calibre to turn that around. Baldwin had a daughter play for Best. That's his soccer connection. He's not a soccer genius either.

No one wants to go to games at Audi Field. Spirit was giving away free tickets to the games there last year to fill the seats.

I understand why they're doing it - since the World Cup, they're able to draw larger crowds and appeal to a wider audience that may not want to drive to suburban Maryland. There is a lot to be said for the fact that the women are drawing the huge crowds and playing in the same stadium as the men as opposed to the appearance that they're shunted to the side to this smaller venue. That said, for us it's bittersweet - we live very close to the Plex and for my girls, who are both soccer nuts, it's been so great to be able to give them up-close access to world-class players (from both the Spirit and visiting teams) with so little stress around driving, parking, etc. The general admission hill with its little beer garden is a great spot. It's a shame to think about that going away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think much about Spirit at all any more. I watched some of the Spirit pro games, and it was so boring. I went to support women's professional supports. Once they dumped their youth program in such a disgusting fashion, I couldn't bring myself to go any more. And now they are just a memory of time and money I wasted. Instead, I'm watching on TV to catch what I can of women's pro soccer. I wonder we will start to have more access to the European teams. That I'd be interested in paying for.

What a stupid post.

Maybe continued news like this makes PP shun the Spirit for international women’s soccer:

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football-sam-kerr-matildas-captain-announces-signing-with-chelsea-085651627.html

You’re not the dude who thinks Spirit moved to Loudoun for FCV and thinks DC is a “hotbed” for soccer talent, are you?

I’d differ on that slightly. Before Gabarra, with Parsons, they played a good style and were successful even into his first year, reaching the final, before declining. Lynch, the former owner, recognized this and fired him. The only reason current company is there is Lynch wanted/needed the financial help. There’s no reason to think the results will improve/return to championship level under Ritchie.

the Spirit did play a boring style heavy on wing play via Mallory et al They seemed to not want to get counterattacked down the middle so they did not play down the middle even though they had Rose for alot of games

i think injuries and NT commttments changed their ability to play much differently, maybe more exciting play in store in future

made sense as they got consistently beat in prior seasons and Manager R has turned it around by a model where defense is a premium in the approach

but boring to watch honestly and the Spirit speed of play is not fast except when Rose goes, Mallory consistently gets caught in corner and needs to develop to play more in center

Spirit are trying to stay viable. Having to kowtow to DC United and become their little sister is not great but necessary. Necessary. This league may not even survive and if the NT wage suit prevails and USSF has to pay more in salary to players they may (wrongly) decide to withdraw financial support of NWSL and let clubs pay more of their way. Clubs wont survive and the league will be in jeapordy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think much about Spirit at all any more. I watched some of the Spirit pro games, and it was so boring. I went to support women's professional supports. Once they dumped their youth program in such a disgusting fashion, I couldn't bring myself to go any more. And now they are just a memory of time and money I wasted. Instead, I'm watching on TV to catch what I can of women's pro soccer. I wonder we will start to have more access to the European teams. That I'd be interested in paying for.

What a stupid post.

Why is it stupid? He/she wasn’t impressed with Steve/Larry/Ritchie/FCV ball being played by Spirit. It’s that person’s opinion. It’s not as though Spirit ended up in contention for a title despite having two of the best young players on the USWNT.

Send it!

Anonymous wrote:I don't think much about Spirit at all any more. I watched some of the Spirit pro games, and it was so boring. I went to support women's professional supports. Once they dumped their youth program in such a disgusting fashion, I couldn't bring myself to go any more. And now they are just a memory of time and money I wasted. Instead, I'm watching on TV to catch what I can of women's pro soccer. I wonder we will start to have more access to the European teams. That I'd be interested in paying for.

What a stupid post.

I don't think much about Spirit at all any more. I watched some of the Spirit pro games, and it was so boring. I went to support women's professional supports. Once they dumped their youth program in such a disgusting fashion, I couldn't bring myself to go any more. And now they are just a memory of time and money I wasted. Instead, I'm watching on TV to catch what I can of women's pro soccer. I wonder we will start to have more access to the European teams. That I'd be interested in paying for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once 2022 rolls around and they will play all of their games at Audi Field, what will they do with the Soccerplex Stadium?

It was there for 20 years before spirit. I imagine it will remain.

What was the stadium field used for before the Spirits used it?

Games. Before the Spirit, there was the Freedom. When the Freedom started, the stadium infrastructure existed without a fence, and they fenced in the entire stadium and put up the screens on the fence so you could not peak through (i.e., had to buy a ticket). It will be used for games, like always.

People actually go to the games at Audi, not so much at their current MD field. Hard to argue that. grow the fan base by locating the games at a place that draws not just the die hard Spirit fan but families and kids and others that might not otherwise travel to Boyds, MD. People enjoy going to the city, to Audi. It makes total sense

Anonymous wrote:So DC United and Spirit pro teams to train in Loudoun
DC United DA and FCV DA to train in Loudoun
DC United pro team trains indoor at The St James
(Spirit pro and DAs also to train indoor at The St James?)
DC United and Spirit pro teams to play at Audi

Nice tinfoil hat you're wearing.

Spirit got out of the youth soccer business because it was a distraction and kept the Pro side from doing just these sorts of deals. DA gone, Super Y gone.

The new Loudoun Stadium deal is done because they are trying to fill seats. The stadium is a good size and Loudoun is a market they haven't been able to tap easily. The new training facilities are also top notch. The ultimate goal is to build a fanbase that can fill Audi and that can't be done at the SoccerPlex. PLaying at both locations can in fact build a fanbase who hopefully will follow them to Audi Field.

It is laughable to think that the driving machinations of this move is to be near a youth soccer club when they already had one and didn't know what to do with it so they unloaded it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once 2022 rolls around and they will play all of their games at Audi Field, what will they do with the Soccerplex Stadium?

It was there for 20 years before spirit. I imagine it will remain.

What was the stadium field used for before the Spirits used it?

It has had financial difficulties and probably will have financial difficulties.

Maybe they can build houses on a few fields.

A soccer asset having financial difficulties? Somebody call the St James.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once 2022 rolls around and they will play all of their games at Audi Field, what will they do with the Soccerplex Stadium?

It was there for 20 years before spirit. I imagine it will remain.

What was the stadium field used for before the Spirits used it?

It has had financial difficulties and probably will have financial difficulties.

Maybe they can build houses on a few fields.